Jupiter Adept
by VilyaSage
Summary: A story dealing with Ivan's search for his past and how he goes to find it. CHAPTER SIX! Took way too long, I know, don't hurt me, I don't want pizza, Triad. Bilibin, here they come! Oh..there's a slight problem though...read to find out what! ~Ava
1. Departure

Jupiter Adept

By: Avaria of the Company

Disclaimer: I don't own much. Vilya owns Salen, Rilion, Zoe, and Torrent (the latter two are from her fic, and are referred to because this fic happens after hers—but I'm not giving anything away). I own the Sol Scepter, however. And my ideas of Ivan's past.

Summary: A story dealing with Ivan's search for his past and where that search takes him. Characters from Vilya's ficcy, As Luck Would Have It, are referred to because this fic takes places two years after that long story ends. Have fun reading!

Chapter One: Departure

            _"I'm glad to see you've grown into a strong young man Ivan," Master Hama said, meeting his purple eyes with her own. Then, hastily, she followed Feizhi out the door. _

_            "Ivan," Garet asked, turning serious eyes to the boy. "Do you and Master Hama…know each other?"_

_            "Well, no," Ivan said, deep in thought, "but she doesn't feel like a stranger."_

_~^~^~^~_

_            "Weren't you going to ask Master Hama what she meant before?" Garet asked Ivan later, outside Lama Temple. _

_            "I was. But…Master Hama hasn't met my eyes since she said those words," he said softly. _Almost as though she's hiding something_, his mind added. "She'll tell me when our mission's over," he went on, adding softly, "I just have to believe that."_

~^~^~^~

            "This is too _hard_!" Salen yelled, after trying Reveal for what felt like the hundredth time. Her twin brother, Rilion, black hair falling into his face and hiding his bright green eyes, watched from his convenient perch in a tree. 

            "Only if you keep thinking that way," Ivan said sagely. Two years ago, he and his friends had succeeded in saving the Elemental Stars. Shortly after the adepts had split ways, he and Sheba had found these two ten-year-olds, one a Jupiter Adept and one a Venus Adept. He _still_ had to write that letter to Isaac, he reminded himself.

            "What's the point of learning an ability that isn't an attack?" Salen went on angrily, and the wind began to swirl around her. 

            "Whoa! Calm _down_, Salen!" Sheba said as she came out of the house the four shared. Almost immediately the winds died down. "Sometimes I wonder if you shouldn't have been a Mars Adept."

            "Only sometimes?" Rilion called, grinning. Salen turned her emerald eyes on her brother and shot bolts of lightning at him, which he blocked with a barrier. "Hey! No need to get all offensive!"

            "I oughta zap him from here to Vale and back," Salen muttered darkly, running a hand through her stark white hair. The twins couldn't be more different, Ivan thought, but they were closer than even Jenna and Felix were, and they were brother and sister also.  

            "And that's a long way," Ivan said calmly, "considering we're in Kalay. Now, Salen, stop going so fast. Take your time. I know you'll do it."

            "How can you know?" she shot back, and Ivan just folded his arms and smiled. "Oh, right. You see the future. Big deal. Doesn't help at all in a battle." 

            "You never know."

            "But I _know_ I can't do this!" Salen complained, knowing it wasn't worth it but refusing to give in. "I've tried more times that I can count! I'm sick of this! What's the _point_?!"

            "The point is to get it to work. Take some of my friend Zoe's* advice."

            "And what would that be?"

            "Try anyway."

            About to come back with an angry reply, Salen remembered how easily her brother had picked up on the few attacks Ivan had been able to describe to him. Determined to beat her brother, Salen closed her eyes and concentrated. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, it was as though the final pieces of a puzzle had fallen into place, and a power unlike any she had ever known coursed through her.

            "Reveal!" she yelled, and in a flash the world around her turned black and white, along with varying shades of grey. Only Ivan, Sheba, Rilion, and an object lying on the ground showed any color. Bending, Salen picked up the object, a silvery staff with a sharp-pointed sun at its top. "What is it? It's heavy!"

            "A Sol Scepter," Ivan explained as the Reveal wore off. "A gift for you once you figured it out. Nice job."

            "Now, you go inside and do your work! Both of you!" When Sheba was met with loud groans, she simply gazed evenly back at them. "I know you never had parents to tell you this, but for the moment you're stuck with Ivan and me. Any more arguing earns you double work." At those words, the siblings ran inside, Salen half-dragging the Sol Scepter behind her.

            "Never had parents…" Ivan mused, looking out into the wide blue sky. He had never had parents that he could remember. Hammet and his wife had raised him here, in Kalay. To the people of Kalay, his Jupiter Adept powers were unnatural, weird, strange…in other words, something to be avoided, if not shunned altogether. Now he began to wonder, as he had so many times in the past, if he'd ever had a family before Hammet. Before Kalay.

            Almost immediately images of his traveling companions came to his mind. Isaac. Garet. Mia and Zoe, and Jenna, Sheba, Picard and Felix eventually. They were his family _after_ Hammet, he reminded himself. What he was searching for was _before_. After a few moments of standing perfectly still, eyes closed, voices entered his thoughts.

            _"He'll be a Jupiter Adept, like both his parents, you know that."_

            "Oh, you stop that! There's no way to tell. I'll just be happy if he's a strong young man like his brother. Oh, my little Ivan…"

            "I have a brother," Ivan whispered. "Or had. Who knows, now? Obviously he was some sort of warrior. And I had parents. At least I think I did. A mother, surely, for she wanted me to be a strong young man…like Master Hama said I was." Suddenly realization hit him. "Master Hama! If anyone has the answers I need, she does!" 

            "Ivan, dinner!" Sheba called, and Ivan jumped. "Sorry if I startled you, but with the way those two are eating, there'll be nothing but your element left to eat if you don't hurry."

            "It's your element too!" Ivan said defensively. At that moment what he most wished for were all his friends to be together again. Memories flooded him, of meeting Isaac, Garet and Zoe in Vault, of fighting Saturos alone at the top of Mercury Lighthouse, of being thrown into a wall _in_ Mercury Lighthouse while fighting Sirens, of the look on Isaac's face when he had to go into Jupiter Lighthouse, of hiding the Mars Star in the best place possible…and of saying their goodbyes on the road home, Isaac, Garet, Jenna and Felix heading for Vale, Mia for Imil, Picard for Tolbi, and himself and Sheba for Kalay. 

            "Hello? I said _dinner_," Sheba said, this time walking up to him and shaking him a bit. "Where is your mind today?"

            "Off in the sky, where it usually is," Ivan said, giving his usual reply before practically flying into the house for dinner. Sheba was a magnificent cook, though she didn't seem to think that, and by the time she got back inside the food was almost gone. She took a full plate and ate with them, putting Ivan's distant voice out of her mind.

            "Tonight I write that letter," Ivan said aloud. "I can't teach you anything else, Rilion, and I'm hoping that either Isaac or Felix can. If one of them is willing, I'll have one of Hammet's servants take you to Vale, Rilion."

            "You're going to split us up?!" the twins cried simultaneously. Ivan knew this was coming. For a long time, they had only had each other, despite being opposing elements. Now it seemed they were losing that link.

            "Not forever. And it's possible that Isaac or Felix will come here instead, though it's doubtful. I did have a friend who learned all her Psynergy on her own, but that was because she was different."

            "I don't want to leave Salen," Rilion said defiantly.

            "And I don't want him to!" Salen cried, equally rebellious.

            "We'll see," was all Ivan would say. In truth, he didn't much like the idea of splitting the twins up either, but it was beginning to look like there was no other way.

            "It's late," Sheba remarked. Ivan smiled at her. The two Jupiter Adepts had become fast friends in their travels together, and their attraction for each other was growing steadily. "Bed might be a nice idea."

            "I agree," Salen said, stretching and yawning. Rilion nodded, cleared the table, and followed his sister up to bed. Sheba went upstairs soon after, leaving Ivan alone with his thoughts.

            He had the only downstairs bedroom, which he suddenly entered and grabbed something from under the bed. It was his Zodiac Wand, a powerful weapon and one that had aided him in most of his travels two years ago. Stored in a chest at the foot of his bed was his green cloak and two glittering stones, one of them reddish in color and the other a dull black. "Cloak Ball and Orb of Force," he muttered, and pulled them, the cloak, and a small purple bag out of the trunk. Into the bag went the gems and some food from the kitchen. In there already were a few Herbs, Nuts and some Water of Life. He had once also had the Frost Gem, but couldn't remember where he'd put it.

            Closing what he liked to call his 'magic bag' for its ability to hold just about everything with minimal weight, he put his Silver Circlet on his head, and a pair of Leather Gloves on his hands. His eyes caught sight of a drawing on the table by the bed, and he picked it up. It was a rough sketch, done by Sheba, of the nine adventurers two years ago outside Jupiter Lighthouse. Folding it carefully, he put that into his bag as well. Now sitting in that spot on his table was a round blue stone. "So _that's_ where I put that thing," Ivan muttered, shoving the Frost Gem into the bag. 

            After scribbling a note to Sheba and the twins, he silently left the house. Looking back at his home one last time, he turned east and began walking towards the Lamakan Desert. Past there, he could get to Lama Temple, Master Hama's dwelling.

            He only hoped she could answer his questions.

~^~^~^~

            "What? The road is closed?"

            "That's right, boy," said the guard in front of the cave that was the Kalay-side entrance to the Lamakan. "Earthquake brought the cave down. No way through now."

            "Oh great. Now I have to go the _long_ way to Lama Temple," Ivan complained. As much as he hated the heat of the Lamakan, he preferred the one-day trip to the two-week one it would be on the long road.

            "Lama Temple? You mean the one near Altin?" the guard asked, and Ivan nodded absently. _Of all things to forget_, he chided himself, _you forgot a map_. "Don't know if it's around anymore," the guard went on, snapping Ivan out of his thoughts.

            "What?"

            "There was a big fire in Altin. They said it took out some building. Only building I know of around there is Lama Temple."

            "NO!" Ivan yelled, and, all idea of maps and deserts completely forgotten, he raced off to the north, meaning to go around the mountains.

            He nearly dropped the Zodiac Wand when an armor-clad rat-beast jumped out at him, followed by two more of its kind.

            "Rat Warriors," he muttered darkly. Raising his Zodiac Wand, he swung at one, creating a metallic clanging sound that made the very air vibrate. "Yah!" Ivan cried, fighting the urge to cover his ears.

            One of the Rat Warriors dove at him, teeth bared. He barely got the staff up in time to block it, and realized his mistake when he felt the searing pain of claws ripping into his exposed left arm. Yanking away, he spun and raised his good arm into the air.

            "Shine Plasma!" he cried, and the powerful Psynergetic attack wiped out two of the three Rat Warriors. The remaining one hissed, backing up a bit. Ivan gasped as three more of the vile creatures emerged from the surrounding terrain. These were impossible odds, Ivan knew. So he did the only thing he could think of at the moment.

            He turned and ran. Headed west now, back towards Kalay, he didn't stop to see if the rats were following him. He didn't need to. He could hear their hissing and the clanking of their armor. Tripping suddenly on a dent in the ground sent him into a forward roll, the Zodiac Wand smashing him in various places and rocks digging into him everywhere else. The ground began to slope and he found himself unable to stop rolling. Eventually he rolled into shallow water, then deeper, until a large rock sticking out of the water brought him to a painful stop.

            "Oh…ooowwww…" he moaned, pulling himself up using the Zodiac Wand. Constant battling and getting into tough scrapes two years ago had taught him never to let go of his weapon. Not seeing the Rat Warriors anymore, he slowly walked back out of the water, limping to shore and half-falling onto the grassy bank. 

            "That was stupid," he said to himself, finding that even talking hurt. His clothes were tattered and muddy, and bloody too, he noted with a glance at his left arm. A glance was more than he would have liked, though, with how bad it looked. His mind jumped back to one point on the long trip through Mogall Forest, which he had recounted as 'a giant, spirit-and-monkey-prone thorn bush—though without stairs.' He had come out of _that catastrophe in a state similar to this one, only without a Zodiac Wand and with a lot more company._

            The sky was growing dark. Ivan could see the first stars emerging, and he quickly pulled himself up again. Part of him wanted to go back to Kalay, but he knew he couldn't do that. He _had_ to know about his past. He was tired of guessing and trying to remember. He wanted the facts. And he'd waited two years, in his opinion much too long, to get those facts. He wasn't waiting any longer. 

            Slowly and painfully he made his way back to the mountains. Along one mountain was a cave, set well back and sheltered from the weather. Stumbling inside, Ivan sat against one of the walls and closed his eyes. Wanting to fall asleep right then and there but knowing he couldn't, he zapped a stick he had picked up with a small shock and held it over his head. It didn't look like anything shared the cave with him at the moment, which was nice, because he could not fight off anything that felt like attacking.

            Half-crawling outside again, he gathered more sticks and some dry grass, bringing them inside and making a fire. Sitting against the wall again, he took stock of his injuries. His left arm was torn and bloody, and he was limping on his right foot. He could barely open one eye, and was pretty sure he'd bruised a rib or two, if not cracking them.

            Knowing he needed to do something, he tried to rise again, but exhaustion claimed him and he fell into sleep. His last thought before darkness claimed him was to wonder if this sleep would be his last.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Hope you liked it! Jupiter Girl, if you don't show up here, I'll come looking for you! And Kaede sends her apologies for not hurrying—she's in the hospital right now, actually, and is probably going to be there for a while. Sorry. ~Avaria 


	2. Reunion

Disclaimer: This gets annoying after a while. 

**Triad Orion: **THANK YOU! Constructive criticism is always appreciated. I know it's chatty in the beginning. It's meant to be that way. They would normally talk that much, even if they don't do so in the game. And you had better not show up acting like a pizza deliveryman. Cause I know that trick now! 

**Jupiter Girl:** Enjoy the ride! I know how much you like Ivan ficcys! Not too sure about the 'Ivan-gets-beat-up-by-things' aspect, but hey, part of their world, right? 

**Alex:** Kaede says hello. She's supposed to be home by Sunday. 

Jupiter Adept

By: Avaria

Chapter Two: Reunion

         "Out on the sea, on the sea, on the sea! Only place for me, place for me, yes, for me!" 

         "Stop, _please_, Picard!" cried the Mercury Djinni on his shoulder. "First of all, this isn't the sea, it's just a rather big lake, and second, your voice could use a tune-up."

         "It's called the Karagol _Sea_, Torrent," Picard remarked innocently. "And if you don't like my voice, don't listen."

         "The one thing I agree with Torrent on," said a Jupiter Djinni from Picard's other shoulder, "is that you should not sing. Ever."

         "You two, actually _agreeing_ on something? Unreal," Picard said good-naturedly. His humor was met with a spray of water in one ear, and a gust of wind in the other. "Oh, stop that! Can't you guys take jokes?"

         "Good ones," the Djinn said, making Picard laugh. Torrent and Gust laughed with him. His laughter was one of those things that filled a room and caught everyone else up in it, making them laugh too. 

         "We'll be docking soon," said one of the crewmembers as he passed Picard, the Djinn suddenly gone in purple and blue blinks of light. "You might want to get ready."

         "Thanks for telling me," Picard said, and the crewmember nodded. 

         Fifteen minutes later, Picard and the Djinn stepped off the ship and onto the solid ground of Kalay Docks. Though missing the water being all around him, Picard had more pressing business ahead of him, in Altin. It seemed there had been a fire there that was randomly appearing again and again, and he was asked to come help locate its source.

         "Should we stop and see Ivan along the way?" Gust asked him, appearing again. 

         "We don't have the time, if the situation in Altin is as serious as it sounded. Sorry Gust. Maybe we'll stop by on the way back."

         Passing Kalay by, Picard looked at his map. It wasn't all that great, having been drawn by someone who'd never been farther east than Vault, but it would do. Or it would have done, if the clouds gathering in the early-morning sky hadn't broken right then, drenching the young man and the Djinn. 

         "Oh great. Rain. Lovely," Gust complained, disappearing. Torrent, however, didn't seem to object to the rain at all, being a Mercury Djinni. Picard didn't mind rain either, in moderate amounts, but thought that this was a bit much. Especially since he had to walk through it.

         He pulled up his hood and resigned himself to walking in the rain, passing the mountains that surrounded the Lamakan Desert as he went. A light from inside one of the many caves caught his eye, and he turned to look at it.

         "I recognize something about it," Gust said, picking up on Picard's thoughts and reappearing. "It feels familiar. Like I've known it before…Ivan! It's Ivan!"

         "Excuse my asking, Gust, but _what_ is Ivan? I mean, what are you talking about?" Picard asked, golden eyes holding a puzzled look.

         "I sense his presence, sort of. I was 'attached' to him for a long time, you know."

         "Ivan's in that cave? But why?" Before either Djinn could reply, Picard had broken into a run for the cave. He didn't need to be reminded that, after fighting against all those things that had attacked the ship from Tolbi, he was incredibly low on Psynergy. The lack of power sat on the edge of his awareness, and he likened it to seeing something out of the corner of his eye that, when he turned to see it in full, disappeared. But that wasn't the first thing in his mind right now.

         "Ivan's supposed to be back in Kalay, with Sheba," he said to himself. "Not out here."

~^~^~^~

         Through the dark haze of his sleep, Ivan could hear voices. Familiar voices, too. Ivan struggled to make out the words.

         "How is he?" asked a high-pitched voice.

         "Not too good. And I'm low on power. What did Garet call this? 'The old-fashioned way'?" a deeper, slightly accented voice answered, and Ivan dimly felt the pain in his arm diminish. "Too bad the rains came, or we could have taken him back to Kalay."

         "I happen to _like_ rain," put in a third voice. "And you should too. Call yourself a Mercury Adept. Sheesh."

         "You picked _that_ up from Garet," commented the first voice. 

         "Both of you be quiet!" the second voice hissed. "We don't want to attract any unnecessary attention." For what seemed a long while, there was silence, and Ivan felt himself fall asleep again.

         Waking a second time was much easier, and a good deal less painful. Slowly, Ivan opened one eye and found himself face-to-face with a face that was not a face at all.

         "He's awake," said the Jupiter Djinni that hovered over Ivan. "Sure took you long enough to get up, sleepyhead," the Djinni remarked to Ivan. 

         "Do I know you?" Ivan asked it, and the creature looked hurt.

         "You don't remember me, is that it? Or you're playing one of your tricks again."

         "Probably the former, Gust," said another voice, and Ivan struggled to sit up and see who it was. Almost immediately strong hands helped him, and this time Ivan did recognize the face that came into focus.

         "Picard," he said softly. "But you were in Tolbi."

         "I was. But I received a message that I was needed in Altin. I was headed that way when I saw a light. It was your fire, apparently."

         "'Apparently' my tail," said the third and final voice, and a Mercury Djinni jumped onto Ivan's lap. "Please tell me you haven't gone totally insane, Ivan, and forgotten me too."

         "You all look alike, actually," Ivan said, a smile creeping onto his face. "But it would be hard to forget you, Torrent."

         "Oh, that's right, remember the _water_ Djinni and not the _wind_ Djinni," Gust muttered.

         "You two have done nothing but argue since I found you, Gust! For five minutes, control yourselves!" Picard said angrily. Then he turned to Ivan again. "How do you feel?"

         "Like I've been hit with a ton of…flying Thunder Lizards," Ivan said with a small grin.

         "Oh very funny. And why are you out here at night? You wrote saying you had students, or something to that effect. Where are they? And where's Sheba?"

         "I've left Kalay."

         "WHAT?!" 

         "I've left Kalay. I'm headed to Lama Temple, where Master Hama is, to learn of my past. I can't remember it. And now I need to know, who my parents, my family, were. And the cave entrance to the Lamakan collapsed. So here I am, without a map and half-dead in some cave."

         "Oh, Ivan…you do know it was stupid to leave alone, right?" Picard's eyes clouded with concern, and Ivan frowned.

         "I wasn't about to drag Sheba and the twins with me! I don't think they need to know…unless I want to tell them." Sighing, Ivan looked down at his arm and found it tightly bandaged. "Nice job," he commented evenly, letting the shadows from the fire hide his grin.

         "It _is_ my job, after all," Picard muttered, and Ivan laughed. "What _happened_ to you anyway?" Briefly, Ivan recounted the Rat Warriors and his failed attempt at escape. Suddenly frantic, he looked quickly about for his Zodiac Wand. Seeing it leaning against the opposite wall, he sighed contentedly.

         "Well I don't care if you want to go alone or not," Gust said stubbornly. "I'm going with you! And maybe I can reach Smog or Zephyr, if I try."

         "Please, it's hard enough telling which one you are apart from all the others," Ivan said jokingly. "I don't need more of you than I can handle!"

         "Very funny, Jupiter boy."

         "Gust has a point, though," Picard said, a thoughtful gleam in his eye. "You shouldn't travel alone. If it were up to me I'd say you shouldn't travel at all."

         "It _is_ up to you, boy!" Torrent said, jumping to Picard's shoulder. "Ivan can't exactly decide."

         "Hold on a minute! I can decide just fine, thank you!" Ivan said defensively. "Or is this more of that Mercury babble I had to put up with for months on the road?"

         "More of that Mercury babble," all three of them replied, making Ivan laugh. 

         "You should go back to sleep," Picard commented. "It's late, or early, whichever way you want to put it. And it doesn't look like the weather'll be clearing up for a while. It's been raining all day."

         "I've been out for a whole _day_?! What time is it?"

         "Probably about two hours before dawn. But you won't see the dawn in this rain. It's coming down in sheets."

         "I _love_ the rain. I don't know what Garet's problem was," Torrent said thoughtfully. "Even that little bit of water in Mercury Lighthouse was enough to drive him over the edge."

         "Duh. _Fire_ adepts have an instinctive aversion to _water_," Gust said in a superior-sounding voice. "Please tell me you knew that."

         "I told you two to be _quiet_!" Picard said, raising his voice a bit.

         "You know, you're almost as scary as Mia when you get mad," Ivan said quietly. Picard laughed.

         "Mercury trait. I think. Maybe it's just Mia and I. But you heard me, I hope. _Go back to sleep_."

         "You sure are demanding," Ivan muttered, but he was having a hard time fighting off sleep as it was. Rolling over and closing his eyes, he fell asleep almost instantly. Gust, now joined to him, drifted off as well.

         "You think he should go back to Kalay," Torrent said to Picard after a while. The Mercury Adept said nothing, his serious eyes staring into the fire. "You'll damage your vision by doing that, you know. I think I'm talking to myself, actually, with how deep into it you seem to be. But I am joined to you—I know what you're thinking. Look, if he goes back to Kalay, he'll never know about his past. And he _has_ to know. I was with him that day Master Hama taught him Reveal. And I know she knows what Ivan wants to know."

         "You're babbling, Torrent," Picard remarked. "I thought that was a _Jupiter_ Djinni trait?"

         "No, it's a Djinni trait period. We all babble with not much else to do. But you have to admit I'm right."

         "Yeah, I guess I do. You're seldom wrong, actually. Is _that_ a Djinni trait too?"

         "No, that one's all mine," Torrent said with a laugh. Picard laughed as well. "Think we can get going tomorrow?"

         "We?" Picard asked, his voice hinting at mock surprise. "What do you mean, 'we'?" 

         "Oh, come off it. I know you mean to go with Ivan to Lama Temple. It'll take at least two weeks, probably more if we're laid up like this all the time."

         "And knowing Ivan, we will be."

         "You said it. Though, Garet was always more accident-prone than Ivan was. Probably because of his stupidity."

         "I'm not gonna go there."

         "Smart boy. You should sleep too, you know. Get some of that Psynergy back."

         "Then who will be left to watch out for danger?"

         "No danger will come. The rain drives most things away."

         "Alright…I'll believe you, _this _time." Without another word, Picard lay his head on his pack and fell asleep, Torrent following suit not much later.

~^~^~^~

         "He's been gone for a whole day. I don't like this," Sheba muttered to herself. Salen and Rilion had gone together into town looking for him, and had come back with nothing. 

         "Maybe he's gone to send that letter? It's a two-day trip, to the nearest post and back," Salen suggested. 

         "Maybe. I guess we'll have to wait a day and see."

         "More than a day," said Rilion from where he sat at the table. "Big storm is coming. The kind that turns into a great descending spiral."

         "Tornado. But the season's wrong for a cyclone storm," Sheba said, tapping her chin in thought. "There have been freak tornadoes in the past, but not often, and never at this time of year."

         "I wonder," all three of them said together. It didn't even seem odd to them that they had spoken simultaneously. Because it was true. They did wonder.

         They had every reason to.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Still having fun? The chapters are pouring from my head, so expect more after…hmm…ten reviews? That's not too much, is it? ~Avaria


	3. Journey

Jupiter Adept

By: Avaria

Disclaimer: I own every word in this fanfiction, so HA!

**Jupiter Adept: ** You _are_ the tenth review.

**Alex:** It wouldn't be my story without more Picard ;). That's half of why Vil's so obsessed with this ficcy. 

Chapter Three: Journey

         "Get up, Ivan!" Gust said urgently. "The rain's over, and Picard says we should get going before they start again."

         "Knowing Picard, he says we should stay _here_ for a while, but hey, why not, I'm not tired anymore," Ivan said, sitting up and shaking his head to clear it. "Though food would be nice."

         "Ten steps ahead of you, Ivan," Picard said from over by the pile of sticks that had once been a fire. "Made you breakfast." He handed a bowl filled with something hot to Ivan, and a spoon, and the Jupiter Adept thanked him and ate quickly. 

         "And he said he was low on power," Torrent muttered in an aside to Gust. "Trust him to reserve near half of his energy, 'just in case'."

         "Well, you know, they're all the same," Gust commented. "Mercury Adepts, I mean."

         "I know. _Believe _me, I know."

         "This kinda makes me miss Sheba's cooking," Ivan said, making a face at the taste of the food.

         "For Sol's sake, I'm a healer, not a cook! I'd like to see _you_ do better!" Picard said defensively. He knew he wasn't a master of cooking, but he also didn't think he could be _that_ bad.

         "Actually, I cooked all the time when it was Isaac, Garet, Mia, Zoe and I out on the road. Though I never had the pleasure of attempting to cook one-handed," he remarked thoughtfully. "You do your job well, Picard, and if your job was cooking, I wouldn't be able to say that."

         "Kinda makes you glad we don't eat," Gust muttered.

         "Heck yeah," Torrent agreed. "That stuff looked like glue with lumps."

         "Are we going to get going?" Ivan asked, standing and getting his Zodiac Wand. His smirk wiped the look of shock off Picard's face. "Did you not just hear me, Picard? I said, you do your job well."

         Picard laughed. "Oh very funny." Standing and gathering his things, Picard laughed quietly to himself, until his hand bumped against something inside his pack. He pulled it out and looked at it, eyeing it strangely. "Ivan, do you recognize this?" he called.

         "Recognize what?" Ivan called back. Still walking with a slight limp, he joined Picard by the cave entrance and looked at the object. "Jupiter help us all," he said in awe. "It's the Mars Star."

         "What is it doing _here_?" Picard wondered aloud. "It shouldn't be here. I _know_ I didn't have it when I got to Tolbi. Heck, I didn't have it when I _left_ Tolbi!"

         "Can we contemplate this while moving?" Gust asked, a trace of urgency in her voice. "It's getting overcast again, and I don't want to be caught in the rain!"

         "Sure, sure, let's go," Picard said, mind obviously somewhere else, shoving the Mars Star back into his bag and throwing on his cloak. "Ready, Ivan?"

         "What are my choices?" Ivan asked helplessly. "Let me warn you though—monsters are still about, even two years after."

         "I know that. What do you think the trip across the Karagol was like? A vacation?"

         "You could have gone _around_ to the south of the Karagol, you know."

         "But it was _water_, Ivan."

         "I know it was. The element I get to beat up on." 

         "Please, don't beat up on me. Then where would you be the next time you encountered Rat Warriors?"

         "Up the proverbial creek without a paddle. Heck, I don't even think I'd have a boat." This made all four companions laugh. For a while after, they were silent, moving slowly but at a steady pace. They had a brief encounter with some Zombies, but Ivan easily took them down with Shine Plasma. 

         "Zappage is so wonderful," Gust sighed wistfully.

         "'Zappage'?" Ivan and Picard asked together. "What is 'zappage'?" Ivan went on. 

         "A word invented by yours truly. Zappage is the idea or action of zapping."

         "Ah. Zappage. Right." Ivan turned to Picard. "Do you think all Djinn do this, or maybe just all Jupiter Djinn, or maybe just Gust in particular?" 

         "That's a familiar question," Gust remarked. "I suppose you meant it that way." The Djinni hopped from Ivan's shoulder to his head. "You know, Ivan, you're hungry."

         "I am? I guess I am, a little."

         "A little my left eye. You're trying to hide it from water-boy over there. Figures. You and Zoe, you two were the worst and the best at hiding those things."

         "Hiding what things?" Picard asked.

         "Anything that they didn't want the others to know," Torrent and Gust said together. 

         "Um, ok. But listen, I'm hungry, too. What do you say we stop for lunch?" Picard asked cheerfully. The sense of the presence of water everywhere put him in an unusually cheerful mood.

         "You're not cooking," Ivan said decisively.

         "Like you are? Ivan of Kalay, world's greatest cook, does everything single-handedly—literally?!"

         "Correct again, Picard. You're getting better at that. This seems a good enough place to stop to me." With those words, Ivan shot a spark at some dry grass, quickly gathering sticks and whatever else dry he could find to keep the fire going. "Lunch is on the way!"

         "Well, at least your cooking is better than Garet's cooking," Torrent consoled Picard. "All we ever got from him was ashen remains. I remember him trying to fry an apple once. And the day he fried the nuts still in their shells and they exploded…I think he still has that scar on his forehead…"

         "Fry cook extraordinaire, huh?" Picard asked with a grin. "What I'd expect, from a fire-user."

         "No, you don't get it. Garet's motto was not 'fry'. Garet's motto was 'all food must look the same, therefore it all must be a pile of burnt dust'. Because he would eat it no matter how bad it tasted. Because he was Garet."

         "That sounds about right, actually," Ivan put in. Using the cooking gear that Picard carried, he had thrown together a better-looking and better-tasting form of the morning's 'glue with lumps', slicing an apple and adding it to the mix.

         "Ok, you are teaching me this recipe, Ivan," Picard said when he was finished. 

         "Nothing to teach," Ivan said coolly. "Just throw it all together and hope it doesn't burn. Or, if you're Garet, hope it does _more_ than burn."

         "Is it me, or do all our conversations circle back around to Garet?" Gust asked. "If he knew how much we talked about him, his head would be so big he couldn't get his shirt on in the morning." Ivan, laughing, nodded his head in agreement. The image of Garet with a head the size of a watermelon did nothing to stop his laughter, but the sudden noise in the bushes to his right was more than enough to shut him up. The rustles were quickly followed by figures leaping from the shrubbery, and Ivan didn't even have the time to react before sharp claws scratched lines across his face.

         "Ack! Picard, look out!" Ivan cried, scrambling to his feet and grabbing his Zodiac Wand. "There never were Mad Moles on this side of the Karagol before," he said as he swung at one of the five creatures. "And I never thought they were smart enough for ambush."

         "This isn't the time," Picard muttered, driving one off with his sword and warily watching the others. "A little help, Torrent?"

         "Sure thing!" cried the Djinni, not even waiting for Picard to unleash her as she dove on one of the Mad Moles.

         "Gust unleash! Follow Torrent!" Ivan called, too distracted to pay attention to whether Gust attacked or not. He was busy jumping and dodging the mole's sharp teeth and claws, trying to keep his Wand between him and it. Reaching into the speed he knew as that of a Jupiter Adept, he suddenly became a purple-and-green blur, taking down the Mad Mole with only a few swings and instantly heading for another one. This one seemed a bit smarter, because it dug itself into the ground, staying just below the surface and springing whenever Ivan paused for a fraction of a second to change direction as he fought off the third mole.

         Picard was having his own problems. He was about to summon Mercury but before he had gotten past 'I summon' the teeth of the fifth mole latched onto his leg, digging deep and tearing with a searing pain into muscle, even reaching bone. Stifling a scream, Picard instead sent all his rage and emotion from the pain into one giant blast. "Liquid Fire!" 

         Ivan barely got out of the way in time, the blue flames disintegrating the three remaining Mad Moles and singeing Ivan's cloak and hair. He looked in awe at Picard as the light faded—the attack seemed similar to his own last-ditch attack, Shining Strike, one of those things that only manifested itself in extreme emergencies. Picard's cry of pain changed the look on Ivan's face from awe to concern, and he knelt beside the Mercury Adept, who was sitting and clutching his leg.

         "What happened?" Ivan asked urgently. He was aware that he sounded quite unlike himself, but at the moment, with Gust not around to point it out, he didn't really care. "Come on, say something, Picard."

         "Your face…" Picard whispered, and Ivan reached up and touched his cheek. He instantly regretted this as he felt the sting from the scratches one of the Mad Moles had given him. 

         "That wasn't exactly what I meant by 'say something', but it proves you're alive," Ivan attempted to joke. It worked, to some degree, for Picard smiled, but the smile quickly turned into a grimace again. "This'll be fun. I've never gotten to play 'role reversal' with a Mercury Adept before. Ok, water boy, move your hands." Picard's eyes, both pain-filled and amused at the same time, caught Ivan's and held them. Ivan sighed and shook his head. "I don't need to read your mind to know what you're thinking. But do you have any _other_ ideas?" At this Picard gave him a helpless gaze. "I didn't think so. Now, I _know_ you heard me. _Move your hands_." Reluctantly, Picard let go of his leg and placed his hands on the ground.

         "By the god of thunder…" Ivan whispered. It had become a common expression of his two years ago, and it was no less easily said now. "They were just _moles_," he went on, more to convince himself than Picard. His mind lit on something then, something he'd long kept stored in his bag and forgotten about, simply from lack of need to use it. Reaching for the pouch on his belt, he undid the knot that held it closed and dug around inside. Finally, he came up with a ring held between two fingers. The sky-blue stone set in the band flashed once, then went dim. "Darn it! I forgot! _I_ can't use it!"

         "Can't use…what?" Picard asked weakly. Anger flared in Ivan's eyes at his stupidity. Only a Mercury Adept could…Picard _was_ a Mercury Adept!

         "My ring. Or, actually, Mia's ring, but she said she didn't need it, in fact said I'd probably need it more than she would, so I took it. But only a Mercury Adept, in other words, you, can use it, because it's the Healing Ring." Picard, understanding, held out a hand, and Ivan dropped the ring into it. Closing his eyes, Picard combined the power of the ring with what little remained of his own power and felt the deep gashes in his leg begin to heal. If he had been at full power, they might have vanished completely; as it was they only got smaller and less painful, which was more than enough to satisfy Picard. About to hand the ring back to Ivan, he realized the Jupiter Adept was occupied with bandaging what cuts remained on his leg.

         "You know," Ivan commented, tying a tight not, "you should keep the ring. I certainly have no use for it, and even if I _had_ a use for it, I can't use it. By the way, you should invest in a bag like mine. All that stuff you carry wouldn't be nearly so heavy then. And, before you ask, yes, I do babble on like this. I think I picked it up from Gust, actually. It gives me something else to think about, and I can remember Mia and Isaac talking on like this a lot too, so it must serve some purpose." Finished, Ivan smiled at Picard.

         "It has a purpose. And you know it well enough. You _sure_ you weren't supposed to be a Mercury Adept?" Picard asked with a half-smile.

         "No one has ever asked me that before, and I really hope they don't start now. I _was_ asked, once, if I was certain that I was meant for the power of Jupiter and not the power of Venus, don't ask me why, I really don't know. Venus power gives me the willies like you wouldn't believe."

         "Ivan."

         "Yeah Picard?"

         "Shut up."

         "I had this same conversation with Garet once, you know."

         "I can believe it." Sighing, Picard suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to collapse where he sat and just…sleep. For a good long time. But he knew he couldn't. They had to keep going, or he wouldn't reach Altin in time, and Ivan might not get to Lama Temple on his own. Ivan, picking up on these thoughts without conscious effort, was surprised at Picard's loss of the idea that Ivan should go back to Kalay. The Mercury Adept usually held on to the ideas he thought were sensible. 

         "I won't mind if you want to sleep, you know," Ivan remarked, smiling and wincing when the scratches on his face flared in pain again. Picard smiled back and, using his pack for a pillow, fell asleep.

         Ivan, needing something to do and thinking it a good idea, wet a square of cloth with cold water and held it on his face. "The left side of my face sure takes a beating," he remarked to the open air. The wind stirred momentarily, and Ivan felt it wrap around him, holding him as only it could, and only for an adept like himself. "I will find my answers," he vowed, glancing at the sky. The sun was about two hours' distance past noon, he decided. Vault was still at least a day's trip away, two now, with Picard slowed because of his leg. 

         "Ok, I'm sick of being alone. Gust! Set yourself!" he called. Instantly he felt a small surge of power, and the Jupiter Djinni appeared on his leg. Glancing over at Picard, Gust let out a long, low whistle. 

         "What did you _do_ to him, Iv'?"

         "Not me, one of those Mad Moles. Those things have powerful teeth."

         "And look at your face! Hey, Torrent!" Gust called, and in a blue flash the Djinni was on Ivan's other knee. 

         "Yeah?"

         "Lend Ivan a hand?"

         "I didn't ask for any hand," Ivan muttered, and Gust simply glared at him.

         "Can't," Torrent said with a Djinni-style shrug. "I'm an attacking Djinni. Remember Fizz? And Spritz? You want one of them. Or maybe Dew…nah, it's not all that bad."

         "Well, how about Picard then?" Gust asked, and Torrent's eyes shifted to her partner, and she let out a quiet gasp. 

         "The last time I attack without waiting for the order to," she whispered. "But we're still facing the same problem. _I am an attacking Djinni_. Get it through your airy head. I attack, and I power a summons. And, when not fighting, try and provide useful insight and occasional humor."

         "There was that one time," Gust said, "with Isaac in Goma Cave. But I guess you're right. That _was_ different. Two hours, Ivan."

         "What?" Ivan asked. He had long since lost interest in the Djinn conversation, instead losing himself in the deep blue of the sky. White, puffy clouds contrasted startlingly against the crystalline blue, and the golden light of the sun made everything appear to shine. Of course, being a Wind Adept and sensitive to weather changes, Ivan knew there was more rain coming. But right then he'd just been enjoying the moment, absorbed in the simplicity of it all and surrounded by the gentle breeze that embraced him. _If anyone ever heard me talk about how I view the wind_, he thought, _they'd think I was crazy_.

         "You are crazy," Gust said aloud in reply to his thought. "And I'm guessing you have two hours before it starts some serious raining. The winds are shifting about a mile south, bringing the rain with them."

         "Well, now you've made my common sense start a war with my conscience. I can't very well continue on to Vault and stay here at the same time."

         "You might wake him up and travel until it starts raining," Torrent suggested. "Honestly, I'm wondering why I haven't collapsed on the ground like he has."

         "Because you are 'standing by' to power a summons, remember?" Ivan pointed out, and Torrent nodded. "In that state, Djinn are not affected by their partner's current state. Or something like that. Mia gave me some technical definition a while back, and I remember most of it. That was just the short version."

         "Well, what are you waiting for? Wake him up!" Gust said urgently. "Vault is more than two hours away, and even if I try to hold off the rain, we won't make it in time. We'll be spending a night out."

         "We would have been spending a night out anyway," Ivan said, standing and stretching, wincing at his still-sore ankle and arm and at the newer sting of the scratches on his face, then bent and shook Picard awake. "Come on, get up, honestly, you sleep sounder than Garet, and that's saying something." Picard, half-asleep, looked up at Ivan drowsily.

         "What time?" he asked, sitting up and rubbing his golden-brown eyes. Ivan almost laughed at the sight of him, so strong-looking and acting like an innocent little child who slept in.

         "About two in the afternoon, I should think. Gust says we have two hours minimum until rain hits us, and I think it'd be best if we travel while it's still clear. It might be easier for both of us."

         "How, Ivan? I can barely stand." Picard frowned. He hated admitting that he had a weakness. "As much as I don't like saying so, I know I can't walk all the way to Vault."

         "Well you don't have a problem there. We might cover half the distance to Vault, if we hurry as much as we can."

         "That still doesn't solve the problem of how I walk."

         Ivan sat in thought for a moment. Then, suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "I've got it. Switch weapons."

         "What?"  
         "Give me your sword, and you take the Zodiac Wand. It makes a great crutch, trust me." Ivan's lazy grin sparked a similar smile on Picard's face, and he unbuckled the sword from his belt and handed it to Ivan, hilt-first. Ivan took it, holding it with some struggle off the ground. "Ok, so it's a bit heavy. Not like I haven't had to carry heavier."

         "Shove it into that magic bag of yours," Picard said as he pulled himself up using the Zodiac Wand. "There seem to be more surprises in there than even you know about."

         "There usually are. Ok, the sun sets west, so north is…this way," Ivan said confidently, beginning to walk, Picard following a few feet behind. Gust and Torrent had disappeared, though Ivan sensed that Gust was off holding back the storm. Two hours passed this way, the sun getting lower and lower in a sky that grew steadily more overcast. Finally, after about three hours of nonstop walking, Ivan felt the first drops of rain. A glance behind him told him that Picard needed to stop, and he began scouting around for some suitable form of shelter. 

         Gust flashed onto his shoulder. "Storm's coming from the southwest, and so is the wind. Ideal shelter would face northeast." Ivan nodded, for once appreciating the Djinni's ability to sense his thoughts. Searching around again, Ivan sighed. There were no mountains nearby; in fact they had just crossed the bridge that was closest to Kalay. The forest would have been the next best place, but the trees were half a mile away, and Picard looked to be on the verge of collapsing. Still, Ivan had to chance it. Speeding up a bit, he aimed for the trees, rain coming down harder with each step he took. "Head for the forest!" he yelled back to Picard over the roar of the wind.

         When they had at last reached the shelter of the trees, Picard sat down hard on the ground, placing his hands on his wounded leg and trying to send what power he had into it. Ivan sat with his back to Picard, not wanting the Mercury Adept to see that his yelling had reopened the gashes on his face. Touching one, his hand came away red, and he grimaced. It couldn't have been _that_ bad, could it? Pulling a bandanna from a pocket, Ivan held it to the side of his face. 

         "We're stuck here for the night, I can assume?" Picard asked, and Ivan nodded silently. For some reason, the storm seemed to be taking Ivan's energy right away, and he felt drained. Slowly, he leaned up against a tree and closed his eyes. Picard saw Ivan's hand fall from his face, and the bandanna fell to the side, its purple color stained a deep red. "I'm not going to like this," Picard reasoned as he limped over to Ivan, his leg feeling much better and able to bear some of his weight. Reaching out a hand, he gently ran his fingers along the cuts on Ivan's cheek and sighed. Focusing, he brought the blue glow of his power to his fingertips and used it to close the cuts as best he could. 

         "Better to have a past and it be unknown then to have one known and shunned," he muttered as he sat down a few feet away, leaning against a tree trunk and drifting into sleep.

         Gust, sitting a little way away, heard these words, but her ability to fight off Ivan's sleep was entirely gone, and she closed her eyes also.

~^~^~^~

         "We can't go in this rain and wind, Sheba!" Salen argued, and Rilion nodded emphatically. The storm was growing stronger all the time, winds hurling things about, some of them heavier things than the adepts. Sheba's face was wet with a mixture of rain and tears. She didn't like the idea of Ivan being caught out in this. 

         "Sheba!" said a familiar voice suddenly, and a small form was blown into her arms. She caught and held the creature in both hands, turning so the wind was at her back and opened her hands to find that she held a Jupiter Djinni. 

         "Kite!" Sheba said excitedly. Kite had been one of Ivan's Djinn, two years ago when she'd met him. Now she felt the Djinni joining itself to her, recognizing that it would be safe this way.

         "Come on, Sheba!" Rilion called. "We have to get inside! Salen says the spiral winds are coming!"

         "They are," Kite agreed. "Coming from the southwest. Go inside—I'll be alright." Sheba nodded as Kite flashed out, then followed her students inside and locked the door, praying that, wherever Ivan was, he was at least safe and protected.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Chapter three done! No more until 16 reviews! And feel free to present any ideas you have—all comments are appreciated! ~Avaria


	4. Vault

Jupiter Adept

By: Avaria

A/N: The (hopefully) long-awaited chapter four! For Griffinkhan—Picard is GS2's Mercury Adept. For everyone—Ok, Vil says some of the stuff in this chapter wasn't planned on in ALWHI, so I guess this is where I deviate from her ficcy a bit. But maybe she'll reconsider. But she's kinda ticked cause her puter might be missing for like a month. 

**Akiko:** Isaac making an appearance? Maybe…

**Feonyx:** You keep track of those things? Vil always said you were a bit…odd…*laughs* not really. But thanks for reviewing!

Author bloopers! In that last chapter, where it said Jupiter Adept in bold under the author notes, it was supposed to be Jupiter Girl. Sorry—I kinda get carried away. You can understand the whole Ivan thing, right? 

And in the first chapter, the words about "he'll be a strong young man" should be italicized too, as they are Ivan's thoughts also. Just wanted to clear that up. Now to have done with the writing:

Chapter Four: Vault (AT LONG LAST!)

            A light breeze ruffled the emerald leaves of the forest, which was shining from the newly fallen rain. The breeze became stronger, more insistent, and water fell from the moving branches and dripped onto the head of one Jupiter Adept.

            Ivan opened his eyes annoyedly and used his sleeve to wipe the water out of his face. This only served to complicate matters as he noticed that everything—his clothes, shoes, even his _bag_—was damp. In fact the bag was almost dripping.

            "Must have rained harder than I thought it would," he mused as he checked the contents of the bag. Everything inside was mostly dry, except for his clothes and one of his books. Sighing, he used a bit of wind to dry them off. 

            Standing and stretching with a yawn, his face became puzzled at the strange lack of feeling in the left side of his face. Shouldn't it hurt like no tomorrow? Passing his hand over the spot, he found all traces of cuts gone, and he grinned. His mystery was not so mysterious after all.

            "Picard, you might want to get up," he said, turning to where he knew his friend was sleeping. However, instead of being met with the sight of the muscular blue-haired Mercury Adept sleeping like a rock, he found himself to be less than a foot away from a fallen tree. It was a rather large tree; the width of its trunk was longer than Picard was tall. And Picard was taller than Garet, who Ivan was used to measuring the height of things by.

            "Picard?" Ivan called a bit louder, realizing that the proximity and enormous size of the tree put it in the position to have squashed, for lack of a better word, his companion. "PICARD?!"

            "No need to shout! I'm awake!" came a muffled reply. "Though I'd rather be…what in the world?! Ivan, there's a TREE here!"

            "I'm aware," Ivan said sardonically. "It _is_ a bit larger than an apple, you know."

            "It's not in a very good place, either."

            "Did it hit you?" Ivan asked, panic suddenly gripping him with icy hands. If something _were_ seriously wrong with the Mercury Adept, Ivan could do little about it. This behemoth of a tree would have crushed—no, shattered—anything caught beneath it. Though it was obvious that Picard was still alive.

            "Missed by inches, actually," Picard answered, and Ivan breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, the trunk missed. The branched end is pinning me down. I think some of the sharper branches are stuck through my cloak and shirt and into the ground."

            "Well…I could try to use the wind to move the tree," Ivan began, thinking carefully. "But it's rather large…"

            "Noticed."

            "Can't you cut your way out?"

            "I would, to tell you the truth, only there's one slight problem."

            "What's that?"

            "Well, actually two problems. One is that the branches pinning my shirt also hold my arms down. And the other is that you have my sword."

            "Then _I'll_ cut you out," Ivan said with a grin, pulling the sword from its sheath and lifting it to waist-height with a groan. "This thing is _heavy_!"

            "It should be." Ivan ignored this comment and worked at chopping away the leafy branches, unable to see any indication of the location of the Mercury Adept within their confines. 

            "It's a good thing you don't wear green clothes!" Ivan pointed out as he chopped deeper into the branches. "It's hard enough finding you as is!" As he said those words, a hand appeared through a clump of leaves, waving about. "Scratch that. Unless there's someone _else_ under that tree I should know about?"

            "Not anyone I remember." Picard said with a weak laugh. Ivan would probably find out anyway, he reasoned, but for now he saw no sense in telling the Jupiter Adept about it. Though it was worse when the tree shifted position due to the lack of weight on the side closest to Ivan. "Uh, Ivan, as much as I enjoy being trapped under this tree," Picard went on in a sarcastic tone, "could you speed it up a bit?"

            "If you carried a lighter sword, I'd be done already," Ivan shot back, straining to lift the blade yet another time. With a cry that was half triumph, half relief, Ivan brought the sword swinging down one final time, slicing through the remainder of the branches trapping Picard. With a resigned sigh, he grabbed an armful of loose branches and pulled at them, trying to free the adept underneath.

            "Can you move yet?" he asked, lifting another armload. Picard wiggled a bit, biting his lip to keep from crying out, then sighed. 

"I can, but my lower half can't just get up and walk away and leave my upper half behind." He smiled when he heard Ivan laugh, then cried out and blinked as harsh sunlight hit his eyes.

            "Hey! You _are_ in there!" Ivan said with a smirk, holding out a hand. Picard reached up and took it, pulling himself up, nearly pulling Ivan down in the process. Picard yelped as the stick that had gone through his other hand broke off with a loud snap. 

            "YAH!" Ivan exclaimed, eyes widening at the bloody hole in Picard's hand. "You could have said something. Not that I would have been able to do anything about it, per se, but you _still_ could have said something. I mean really, it's not like you didn't notice, you _had_ to have noticed, who wouldn't notice something like that, unless you're really stupid, and if you were then you would be Garet, which you're most definitely _not_…I'm babbling again, aren't I?"

            "It's not having much of an effect, though," Picard said through gritted teeth. Looking at his torn blue tunic, he ripped a piece off with his free hand and tied it tightly around his wounded one. "Can we just get to Vault?!" 

            "Yeah. Ok. Gust!" 

            "What is it _this_ time, oh great Master of Winds?" said the Djinni, hovering in front of Ivan. "Picard, you seem to get into _so much trouble_ these days. Is Torrent rubbing off on you?"

            "Heard that," said a voice, but the form that the voice belonged to did not appear.

            "You were meant to. Now…did you want something, Iv'?"

            "Minimum time it would take us to reach Vault with no interruptions of natural or unnatural form, please," Ivan said in a professional voice. Gust, muttering to herself, launched into the air, shaking more water down from the trees onto Ivan's head. A few moments later, she came back down, disappearing before she even reached Ivan's eye level.

            "Minimum five hours, maximum an eternity, or never, take your pick. There's another storm on the way, though I suspect it won't get this far—it feels like it will break over Kalay. Other than that, the path's clear," said Gust's voice. Obviously, the Djinni liked the way a disembodied voice made the two adepts squirm. 

            "Then let's get going," Ivan said, stepping from the cover of the forest and holding out his hand as though he held a staff of some sort. "Ack! I forgot! My Zodiac Wand! Picard, did you do something with it?"

            Picard, who was struggling to put his sword back on his belt with just one hand, looked up when he heard his name. "What? Zodiac Wand? It was right next to me…oh no." 

            "Oh no? What's oh no?"

            "I can see it from here. Ivan…it's snapped in half."

            "_Snapped in half_!!!" Ivan yelped, practically flying over to where the top half of the Wand could be seen in the pile of branches he had pulled off Picard. Picking this up and pulling the bottom half from under the tree trunk itself, Ivan let out a cry of sadness.

            _It's just a weapon_, his mind told him. He promptly told his mind to shut up.

~^~^~^~

            Before they began the rest of their trek to Vault, Ivan cast a final glance back towards Kalay. Black clouds hung menacingly above the town. "Be safe, Sheba," he whispered. The wind stole the words from him, as though they could carry his message all the way back to Kalay.

            Kalay. His home. The whole reason he had left. He remembered when they had taken a boat across the Karagol and had to fight a Kraken. His Djinn had seriously beaten the thing up. Djinn. That word alone brought memories spiraling back. His seven Jupiter Djinn—Gust, Breeze, Zephyr, Smog, Kite, and Luff. 

            Frowning, Ivan counted those in his head again. _I've forgotten a Djinni_, he realized. But which one? 

            A tear fell as the name hit him like the tree almost had. _Squall_. He remembered Squall better than any other Djinni. Squall had been the most free-spirited and lighthearted of all his Djinn. And she had thrown herself in the way of one of the attacks from the Fusion Dragon, that day on Venus Lighthouse. The attack that would have killed Ivan. Instead, it had taken Squall. 

            "Ivan?" Picard asked tentatively. When the Jupiter Adept turned around, all trace of his tears was gone.

            "Yeah. I know. Sorry. My mind has that tendency to wander. Jupiter trait."

            They walked in silence for a while, both of their minds on other matters. After an hour of this, the silence shifted from thoughtful to uncomfortable. After three hours, it switched gears from uncomfortable to unbearable. At precisely that moment, Ivan's mind lit on a topic of conversation.

            "So, Picard," he said, and the taller Adept looked down at him, reminding Ivan of how pitifully little he had grown in the past two years. "You never _did_ tell me about your trip from Tolbi."

            "I never planned on it," Picard replied stonily. "And before you start in again, those tactics don't work with a master of the trade."

            "I don't know what you're talking about," Ivan said innocently. "But come on, spill it. Nothing could have been worse then that Kraken!"

            "You sure are persistent. Wait, don't tell me," Picard continued when Ivan opened his mouth to speak. "I know. It's a Jupiter trait."

~^~^~^~

            About two miles past the final bridge, Vault came into view before them. Ivan's whoop of joy and light spring into the air seemed a bit dramatic, when Picard was content with a sigh of relief and soft laughter at Ivan's antics. 

            "I am going into that inn, paying for I guess two rooms, and eating a decent meal for once!" Ivan said happily. 

            "You, dear boy, are making fun of your own cooking," said Gust, who had been swooping around above them for the past half hour or so. 

            "Don't I know it. And we couldn't stop for lunch today, either."

            "Might you wait for me before you eat?" Picard asked. "It seems a bit unfair, you eating and me having a bit of a walk ahead of me."

            "A bit of a walk?! It's like ten feet! But I'll wait anyway, as you knew I would, because, well actually I don't know quite why, but just because." Saying this, and having just entered the village, Ivan and Picard split ways, Ivan heading directly into the inn.

            "Two rooms, please," Ivan said with a smile. It had been a long time since he'd been back here, but the innkeeper obviously still recognized him, flashing a smile his way. Ivan paid and took his stuff up to one of the rooms, sighing as he set both halves of the Zodiac Wand down on the bed. 

            "I wonder if the man who runs the weapons shop can fix it," he mused, and, thinking this a good enough idea, picked up the pieces again and left the inn, practically sprinting for the armory. 

            Upon entering the single-story building, Ivan handed the halves of the Zodiac Wand to the weapon smith. The man puzzled over them for a few moments, sighed heavily and shook his head. Seeing the crestfallen look on Ivan's face, the man handed the pieces back to him.

            "We have some other weapons that you might look at," he said hopefully, though this kid didn't look like he had enough for even the most inexpensive purchase. 

            "What have you got?" Ivan asked dejectedly. He'd likely be leaving the Wand behind, and he did need a weapon. In response the shopkeeper led Ivan to a shelf that had all of their best weapons prominently displayed. When Ivan's eyes caught sight of the staff in the middle of the shelf, he almost gasped aloud. 

            The thing was probably about his height, and a deep purplish-black color, and shone as though made of fine glass. _More likely dark crystal_, his mind reasoned. A shining crescent moon made of some material Ivan couldn't identify topped the staff, but it reflected the light into a rainbow of colors and had a sharp edge. It was obviously not just an ornament or precious artifact.

            "What is that?" Ivan asked, pointing it out. The shopkeeper gasped. 

            "That's a Luna Staff," he said, a bewildered look on his face. "Best weapon we've got. Costs 2500 coins."

            "I'll take it," Ivan said decisively, pulling it from the shelf and at the same time leaving the coins on the counter. He was gone before the amazed shopkeeper could even say goodbye.

~^~^~^~

            "How goes it?" Ivan asked later when Picard sat in the seat across from him at a table in the inn. 

            "How goes what?" Picard asked, giving Ivan a calculating look. "You're strangely cheerful all of a sudden."

            "Well so are you, more cheerful then I would think, after having had a tree fall on you and remain that way for most of a night." Ivan was about to go on when the food showed up, and both Adepts dug in greedily. "You know, this one-meal-a-day thing we've been doing hasn't exactly been ideal."

            "It's not as though we had any choice in the matter," Picard pointed out, taking a huge bite of his sandwich. "Mrrphm snnrr mildrrgn ffgguur grishmfal."

            "Care to run that by me again?" Ivan asked. Picard swallowed, grinned, and repeated himself.

            "I said, it's not like we were in the position to cook, either."

            "Point."

            The remainder of the day passed uneventfully, though Ivan's mind kept drifting back to Sheba and Kalay.

~^~^~^~

            A sudden gust of wind blew open the door, and Sheba rushed to close and lock it again. The storms were increasing in power and frequency, and she wasn't liking this at all. And, worse yet, Ivan had not returned from wherever he'd gone. In fact she and the twins had been planning to head out and look for him. 

            The wind that had come into the house swirled around her for one brief instant, and with it came a soft, saddened voice. Ivan's voice.

            "Stay safe, Sheba."

            Her face set in determination, Sheba gathered the things she would need for a journey. Tomorrow morning, the three of them would leave to find Ivan, no matter what the weather.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Avaria: hope you liked chapter four! Please review w/any comments, suggestions, or anything else you feel like saying. 

Kaede: and Alex, GET ISAAC A DRY ERASE BOARD! You're wasting money on all those signs. Or someone is.


	5. Darkness

Jupiter Adept

By: Avaria

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I hit a writer's block the size of the Great Wall of China. But I think I've managed to knock it down. So here we go!

Chapter Five: Darkness

            "You're thinking about Squall again," Gust observed as they made their way towards Goma Cave. Ivan sighed with a resigned nod. "What, did you hit your head or something?! She didn't die or anything! You don't remember?"

            "I guess he doesn't," Torrent mused, jumping from Picard's shoulder to the top of his head. "Ivan, you don't remember Jupiter Lighthouse?"

            "I try not to, actually," Ivan said, mind wandering back to the fiasco Jupiter Lighthouse had been. "All that power kind of made me sick. It was a bit too much."

            "Imagine how Mia felt," Picard said with a laugh. "All that Jupiter Psynergy…nightmarish, really."

            "Nightmarish, huh? I remember fighting Nightmares in Venus Lighthouse. One of those things took me out with one swipe. And they were tall. _Hugely_ tall."

            "Ivan, I've seen Nightmares. I'm the same height as one of them. So's Garet…almost."

            "It would follow, then," said a voice from behind them, "that Picard is also 'hugely tall'." Ivan and Picard whirled, and Gust laughed to herself. She knew that voice anywhere. It was an odd coincidence, happening right at this moment, but Gust chose to take it as good luck.

            "A Jupiter Djinni?" Picard asked aloud.

            "Obviously," said the owner of the voice. "And a rather annoyed one, right now. Talking about me behind my back, Gust? You of all Djinn…"

            "You're not!" Ivan cried, and the Djinni looked puzzled.

            "Not what? A Jupiter Djinni? I most certainly am. Annoyed? Most definitely, though it's wearing off. Hugely tall? Well obviously not, then."

            "Squall?" Ivan whispered, blinking several times as though in amazement, but really to hold back the tears that threatened him. He hadn't seen Squall in ages, and had truly forgotten that day at Jupiter Lighthouse.

            "Well who else would I be?" Squall asked, fighting to hide the excitement and impending outburst that edged into her voice. Slowly and with a great deal of show, Squall dissolved into swirling winds that floated above Ivan's head, then disappeared. In seconds, she reappeared on Ivan's head.

            "What is it with Djinn and peoples' heads?" Picard asked rhetorically, and the Djinn laughed.

            "I think it started with Flint and Isaac, actually," Ivan thought aloud as they continued walking. "Isaac would get so…annoyed, when they sat on his head and messed up his hair. And then there was Garet. After his hair grew back, the Djinn would get lost in the mop! I think we actually did lose Ember in there once, for a day or so."

            "Ember was always one for getting lost," Gust reflected. "Never could quite get the distinction of left and right, or up and down."

            "She could so, she just wasn't all to good at getting out of what she'd gotten into."

            "Mars Djinn are even worse than Jupiter Djinn," Torrent remarked, a smirk in her voice though Gust and Ivan couldn't see her face. Gust took the moment to stick her tongue out at Torrent.

~^~^~^~

            "Goma Cave," Ivan whispered as they felt the cool breeze come from inside. "Good times."

            "I take it that was blatant sarcasm," Picard said in an equally cynical tone. 

            "You take it correctly."

            "All these rocks and dirt," Gust muttered, shuddering as they passed under the initial archway and into the cavern. "Not to my liking, really."

            "Do I need to remind you that I found you _underground_, Gust?" Ivan asked, the Venus element making him just as testy as it had the last time he'd been in a great cave like this one. 

            "I was put there! It wasn't exactly my location of choice, you know."

            "Come on, Ivan," Picard said, fighting to control his laughter at the way the Jupiter Adept was affected by the great presence of stones and dirt. "The faster we go, the sooner we leave."

            "I really don't mind it," Torrent remarked. "There are rivers in here. Fast ones," she added as they hopped across one to the opposite shore. "Rapids are always the best."

            "Are they?" Picard muttered. "Rapids. I remember rapids. They took a certain Djinni and her partner down a VERY high waterfall, did they not?"

            "Don't go there," Torrent said darkly. "As much fun as it was for me, I can't imagine it was much fun for the other Djinn."

            "Water wouldn't be so bad for a Jupiter Djinni," Gust said, flitting to Picard's head and looking down at Torrent, who was on Picard's shoulder. "After all, Mercury's weak to Jupiter."

            "Don't remind me," Picard said, shaking his head dismally. "That's how I ended up with YOU for a Djinni for a while, Gust."

            "She bullied you into it?" Squall and Ivan asked at the same time. Picard nodded, the action shaking Gust off his head. She flashed out and did not reappear.

            "That one got her," Torrent remarked, fighting the smug arrogance that wanted to overtake her voice.

~^~^~^~

            "How many stairs, Picard? HOW MANY STAIRS?!" Ivan cried, looking to the high ceiling of the cave with a 'why me?' gesture. 

            "It's not _that terrible_, Ivan. Calm down!" Picard said with a laugh. "We've got to cross that bridge and then we're almost out. You know if it were lighter I'd be able to see whatever it was that Troll did to you, but it's dark in here."

            "Hmm, really? Never knew it was _dark in caves_," Ivan spat. He didn't know what had happened to him either, but it had involved a Troll's axe and a terrible pain across the back of his shoulder. 

            "The bridge has grown old," Torrent remarked as they came to it. It was wooden, held together by ropes, but the constant spray of the rushing river had brought on rot and decay. This was nearly impossible to notice in the dark, however, and even Ivan's sharp vision picked up only the slightest traces of rot.

            "Avoid the center of the three logs in the middle," he cautioned as he slowly stepped onto the bridge. "They're almost rotten through."

            "The three logs in the middle, he says," Picard grumbled. "What's he want me to do, _count_ until I hit the middle? I can't even see half the logs…oh, Mercury help me, I'm babbling."

            "It's good for you," Ivan remarked. He was past the rotted logs, and turned around backwards to make talking easier. "You know, one time I told Garet that walking backwards was bad for his health. Almost right after that he—" There was the sound of splintering wood, and a splash in the water below.

            "He what?" Picard asked, mind intent on not stepping on a rotted log. "What did he do, Ivan? Ivan?" Picard looked up, suddenly aware that his friend was not on the bridge with him. Looking through a hole in the bridge, he saw the swift river below him and the flash of purple that was quickly rushing away.

            "Ivan no!" Picard yelled, and without a second thought dove in after him.

            Ivan saw Picard jump right before he was taken under. He'd tried to cry out, but the water was moving too fast and he ended up with a mouth full of water. His head broke the surface again, and he searched for any way to stop himself from being carried completely away. 

            The water was cold, he realized, as he tried to feel for handholds with numb fingers. The temperature of the water mattered for a very short time, however, as Ivan, being pulled backwards by the current, slammed headfirst into a rock and, world darkening, went under.

~^~^~^~

Avaria: I don't know, should I stop here? I mean, this would make for a very suspenseful chapter, albeit short…and I'm not sure I know how to continue…

Norli: But I have to know the end! And Vil will have your head if you leave it here, and so will Jupiter Girl and Feonyx and anyone else who's been reading this!

Avaria: Alright, alright, fine…

~^~^~^~

            Ivan came to slowly, instinctively keeping his eyes closed until he figured out where he was. He searched his memory for what in the world had happened to him, and groaned as he remembered the river and his own stupidity.

            His eyes flew open as another memory came to him. Picard had jumped into the water too! Gasping, Ivan sat up and instantly regretted it as dizziness and pain flooded his head. He felt hands pushing him back down and a calm blue light filled his mind.

            Picard sighed as Ivan dropped back to sleep. That water had been _cold_! His shirt was spread out on a rock, but with the sun setting he doubted it would dry very fast. And the night, despite it being the height of summer, promised to be a cold one. 

            "Clouds are gathering southwest of here," Gust reported as she landed by the fire Picard had built. "How's Ivan?"

            "Alive," Squall muttered, shivering. "That's about all I'm worried for. I really don't want to go through the whole 'death' thing again."

            "You didn't die the first time," Torrent remarked. 

            "Shut up Mercury Djinni."

            "Give me a good reason."

            "All of you!" Picard shouted suddenly, and the three Djinn snapped to attention faster than Picard's eyes could follow. "Why in the name of Boreas are you arguing every minute of every day?!"

            "I can't answer for every day," Torrent said thoughtfully, "but as for right now, it's because we know what both of you are thinking. That is, I'm worried and irritable because you are—"

            "I'm not irritable!"

            "—and Gust and Squall are, well, whatever Ivan feels like right now is how they feel too. You knew that, Picard."

            "It almost makes me miss Zap," Gust muttered to Squall, who nodded her agreement. "He was stuffy and wise-guy-like, but he was at least a Jupiter Djinni."

            Picard shook his head and vowed to himself for what felt like the millionth time not to get involved in Djinn arguments anymore. Sighing and sitting down, Picard stared at the darkening sky, watching as the first stars appeared. 

            The river's current had thrown him into the same rocks as Ivan, only he hadn't hit head-on. He'd found Ivan virtually smashed on a rock, and had figured that the Jupiter Adept had been thrown there by something. 

            His brain now well into the thought process, Picard added into this the toll of whatever that Troll had done to Ivan, almost slapped himself in the forehead for not thinking of it sooner, then realized he'd probably covered that and then some with the amount of Psynergy he'd had to use. He felt drained. And it was getting colder. Sighing, he leaned back and closed his eyes.

            "Picard? Picard?!" Torrent's voice cried, and Picard started awake. _I must have dozed off_, he thought as he glimpsed the first rays of the rising sun.

            "He woke up," Ivan commented. Picard realized that a blanket had been thrown over him at some point. "Alright, Mercury Adept, since when do you take a nap in the middle of a freezing night with no shirt on?"

            "Since I ran out of Psynergy healing _you_," Picard shot back, grabbing his shirt and pulling it on. "Which obviously worked."

            "Bilibin," Gust said. "Now."

            "Why?" Squall asked, her mood much brighter after a night of actual sleep.

            "I just…have a bad feeling."

            "That line may become famous someday, the way you always say it," Ivan commented as he grabbed his bag and the Luna Staff, which he imagined he must have held on to throughout the entire rapid experience. 

            "Oh shut up."

            "She says _that_ a lot, too," Torrent said, flashing out immediately afterwards, leaving Picard and Ivan, now headed towards Bilibin, nearly doubled over in laughter.

~^~^~^~

            Sheba stood on the bridge that led from Kalay to Vault, a piece of paper clutched in one hand. That paper had made up her mind more than any ideas would have.

            Salen and Rilion stood behind her, knowing the nature of the note but not the exact words it contained. They knew they were off to find Ivan, and that he had gone to Lama Temple. They also knew that the Lamakan Desert entrance was blocked. 

            "The long way," Salen muttered darkly. "Rilion and I could have just moved the rocks out of the way, but _no_…"

            Without a word, Sheba began walking again. Dark storms were brewing, she knew, of more than one kind.

~^~^~^~

Avaria: the end, before Vilya kills me!


	6. Maelstrom

Jupiter Adept

Avaria: I actually finished this YESTERDAY but ff.net wasn't up when I went to upload. So here it is today!

A/N: Yay! It's back. Took me a while, sorry, life caught hold of me and didn't let go. A few things: One: Picard's accent is mentioned. The Company thinks he has an accent (was Vil's idea, and seems to be an accepted one) much like an English accent, only different. Two: Piers. Ick. Not a good name. It's a pun, really, as a pier is this thing that juts out over or into the water…yeah. So we and probably many others (Alex, Akiko, Midnight, Triad, Feonyx, etc) are going to stick with calling him Picard. Because he is and always will be Picard. Plus then I can make Star Trek jokes.

And finally Three: April 14th draws closer. Are you all ready?

**To all my reviewers:** Thanks! I can't find any questions that need answered, so I'll let you read now.

So without further adieu…

Chapter Six: Maelstrom (hey, I like the name!)

         "Are you _sure_ you're alright, Picard?" 

         "Ivan, for the tenth and final time, _I_ am the one who is supposed to ask _you_ that question."

         "You're supposed to ask me if you're alright?"

         "_Ivan_!" Picard sighed. He would have to learn the Jupiter Adept logic Ivan seemed so fond of. In his mind, laughter echoed, and he knew Torrent would be having the time of her life at his expense.

         "Do you remember that day Bane pretended to be king?" Ivan asked suddenly, and Picard gave him a strange look. "He grabbed a stick, put a nutshell on his head and paraded around, calling himself 'Mighty King Bane' and somehow getting the other Venus Djinn to follow along behind him."

         "In my opinion, Quartz embarrassed himself," Squall said. "He could have kept his dignity and said nothing, but _no_, he had to question Bane on the authenticity of being a king when you were only a few inches tall and carrying a stick that wasn't even big enough to be called a twig."

         "I think Bane tried to poison him," Gust reflected. "Which, of course, made Sap and Vine angry, and when those two get mad, everyone else gets out of the way." 

         "While we're here," Picard said, as much to remind them that they were in the middle of Bilibin as to change the subject, "we might as well enjoy ourselves."

         "Hey, the last time I was here, these people were all mobbing me because I helped end their talking tree problems. No more Venus activities for me, please." Ivan held up his hands and shook his head. "Come to think of it, no more Mercury activities either. Unless I get a raft next time." 

         Picard laughed quietly, then sighed and glanced towards the sky. Clouds hung low yet again, and he was starting to find the sudden abundance of rain to be suspicious.

         "Ivan, do you notice anything strange about those clouds?" he asked, and Ivan joined him in looking skyward.

         "They're very dark…dang, you'd think the sun hadn't risen at all…and kind of heavy-looking…why?"

         "I kind of get a bad feeling from them. In Lemuria…well, storms like the ones that have been occurring are never good signs."

         "Gust, Squall? Would you mind finding out if anything weird is going on?"

         "Sure thing, _captain_ Ivan," Squall muttered, and Gust giggled as the two of them soared into the dense clouds. 

         Picard then noticed that no one was out in the town at all. No people milled about, and no windows or doors stood open. The feeling that something was amiss grew further, and Picard realized the problem when, instead of the Djinn descending from the clouds, there was a large funnel-like thing coming at them instead.

         "YAH!" Ivan yelled as the winds suddenly picked up, and he felt himself being drawn forward. The tornado (that's what it was) touched down then, and it felt like the earth had exploded. 

         Ivan, judging within the span of a second exactly what the giant cyclone would do, ran from the trees that bordered the town. Picard followed, but the sound of a frightened cry stopped him. It was coming from one of the houses, and Picard ran that way instead, despite Ivan's calls and warnings. 

         He wished he _had_ listened to Ivan when a Zombie sprang at him, knocking the unprepared Lemurian to the ground and beginning to scratch and bite at him. Picard, unable to reach for his sword, satisfied himself with smacking and kicking the thing, but in his mind he knew it was an impossible battle.

         Later, he would reflect on whether or not the Zombie had saved his life, as it was sucked into the whirling tornado and _he_ was thrown into the wall of the nearest house—and then _through_ that wall. For a moment, he did contemplate the benefit of the Zombie being on top of him, but the moment was a short one as darkness took hold.

         Ivan sprang from his safe spot, facing down the whirling maelstrom. He raised his hands and concentrated, wishing, and echoing Gust's previous wish, that Zap were here to undo all this. As it was, Ivan sent a whirling Tornado, spinning in an opposing direction, straight at the natural cyclone and prayed that his actions didn't kill them all. 

         Moments later, the winds dissipated. Ivan headed for where Picard had completely obliterated the wall. "This is really starting to be a bad day," he said, and for a moment a previous bad day, long ago, in fact back when the Kolima/Bilibin problem had been first solved, came to mind. "I wished for Mercury powers back then, too," Ivan muttered sourly.

         Ivan was reassured by the presence of Torrent next to the unconscious Lemurian. "You two still have that 'oops I keep forgetting about Djinn' problem. Never unleashing or summoning or _anything_. Zoe never had that problem. Well, maybe once."

         "Ivan! Ivan!" came a voice from the sky. He looked up to see Gust and Squall returning. "Man, _what_ a rush! That was _amazing_!" Gust said with a laugh. "Best wind I've ridden in…well…a while. Time isn't the same for a Djinni as for a human."

         "Ivan, what happened to Picard?" Squall asked, with atypical attention to detail. 

         "A good number of things," Torrent answered before Ivan could begin to speak. "Why? Do you have a solution?"

         "Short of finding another Mercury or Venus Adept immediately, no. It just came to mind that a tornado can't scratch and tear like that. Though it certainly can toss a tall Adept through a wall."

         "We're running out of time," Torrent said quietly. Ivan nodded. Some of the people of Bilibin were beginning to come back out, but the one Ivan looked for wasn't among them. 

         "My rotten luck," he said, and as he tried to come up with a plan his gaze strayed to where the sun now glinted off the black crystal of his staff. Sighing, he tilted it forward so the glare didn't hit his eyes. 

         The black crystalline crescent moon on the business end of the weapon began to glow violet. As Ivan watched in amazement, it emitted a beam of purple light, which struck Picard in the chest and became a blazing ball of power. Ivan staggered suddenly, realizing the staff was drawing on his own energy and using it to suit the need of the situation.

         Picard sat up and blinked. Ivan pulled the staff away, the light fading instantly to a dull glow, then disappearing altogether. 

         "Alright. I've known you for a long time, Ivan, and never in that time have you done _that_ before," Picard said slowly, as though he couldn't believe what had just happened. 

         "Picard!" Torrent cried happily. Picard nodded distantly. "Somehow, I always end up with the human most accident-prone."

         "I was attacked by a Zombie and thrown into, no, _through_ a wall by a breeze gone mad—"

         "Breeze gone mad. I like that," Gust said. "I'll have to remember to tell him. Likely he'll try to replicate."

         "—and Ivan points his weapon at me, and poof, all that's ripped are my clothes," Picard finished, looking down at the tunic and shorts he wore. "Which, by the way, are a vivid reminder of what just happened. Ivan, did you—"

         "No, Picard, I had no idea the Luna Staff was capable of that, yes, I just read your mind because it seemed easier than waiting for you to form the thought, and no, I'm not implying you're slow, I'm implying that you're…well…confused," Ivan finished lamely, never one for putting emotions into words. That had been more of Sheba's thing. 

         "Confused. Utterly perplexed is more like it. But it's a nice weapon you're carrying, Ivan," Picard said with a grin. "Especially if it means I don't have to do all the repair work around here."

         "You still will, even if you use the Luna Staff. It draws off your own energy and uses it for whatever needs to be done. Or, it seems to do that. And you must have been one heck of a mess, with the amount of energy it pulled from me. Come to think of it…I could use a nap."

         "You have power with the winds," said one of the villagers. Ivan turned to look at the person in question. It was an old man, leaning on a cane and approaching them slowly. "Tell us, do you know another with wind powers? A young boy who carries a wooden staff and travels with two older boys and a blue-haired young woman?"

         "I do know him. He's me. Well, minus the staff and traveling companions."

         "Can you tell us if the whirling winds have stopped?" asked a woman who was carrying one child and holding the hand of another.

         "That job would fall to my partners," Ivan said, and within seconds, Gust and Squall (who had disappeared at the approach of the villagers) reported in Ivan's mind that there were no more tornadoes headed their way. He said as much, and all who were gathered smiled gratefully.

         "Allow us to give you a room in our Inn," said a man who had to have been the Innkeeper. "We won't charge you."

         "Why shouldn't you charge us? We haven't done anything spectacular," Picard said. Ivan looked back at him and sighed.

         "Ivan has," Gust said, picking up on his thoughts. "He got rid of that wonderful cyclone." The disembodied voice startled the villagers, but as Ivan staggered and nearly fell out of the ruined building they quickly forgot all about it. 

         After a much-needed meal, and the debate over whether it should be considered lunch or dinner (dinner won out), Ivan and Picard headed to their room. Both of them had been provided nightclothes by the Inn, and though the sun had only just begun to set, they each took a bed and let sleep claim them.

~^~^~^~

         "Salen!" Sheba called up to her. Salen was currently atop a tree, watching a giant tornado touch down to a backdrop of the setting sun. Earlier, they had seen one in the direction of Bilibin. 

         "Yes?" she asked. 

         "There's another one; I sense it. Where is it now?"

         "They're getting closer, Sheba. Closer and closer."

         "She's in danger, then," Rilion reasoned. 

         "And so is Ivan, if he's gone to find her."

         "We should keep moving," Sheba said quietly. "Maybe get to Vault before it gets too late."

~^~^~^~

         Early the next morning, Picard, who had risen before Ivan and laughed to himself for a few moments at the Jupiter Adept's sound sleep (the slam of a nearby door hadn't even made him stir), headed out of the Inn. The sun was shining brightly, a major improvement, and Picard wished, but only for the briefest of moments, that he could predict weather changes as well as Ivan could. Of course, he also wished he were at sea, where though the weather wasn't predictable, it was easier to understand and prepare for.

         He climbed up onto the town's perimeter fence. From here he could just barely make out the tip of Mercury Lighthouse through the mountains. He had never been there, and doubted he ever would be, though he had at one time gotten very close. 

         Thinking of the lighthouse reminded him of something else, and he perched on one of the posts of the main gate, sitting as though he had spent the better part of his life reclining atop poles. From a pocket in his tunic (his spare—his other was torn beyond recognition) he pulled a shining silver instrument, a sort of miniature flute one played much like a recorder. The end opposite the mouthpiece was decorated with a blue-and-white tassel.

         Picard placed the Lemurian flute between his lips and played up and down the scale a few times, assuring himself that he could still play the instrument. He pondered for a moment what to play, then settled on an old song that came to mind. It sounded especially clear that unusually cool morning. 

         "Where'd you get that?" asked a voice after he'd been playing for about half an hour. He put the flute down and turned halfway to stare at a pair of knees. Ivan lowered himself next to Picard with more ease than the Lemurian had believed possible. 

         "It's a Lemurian flute."

         "What were you playing? I heard screeching metal and I decided to come and investigate," Ivan added with a grin.

         "Lemurian ceremonial song. It's usually played on holidays or…screeching metal?! I ought to hit you with some _real_ bad notes!"

         "So, Captain," Ivan said with a mock-salute that made Picard groan, "where to next? Kolima? Or do you want to stop off in Mercury Lighthouse?"

         "There's no reason to delay our trip even more. Fires in Altin, tornadoes in Bilibin…when we get to Kolima, I bet there'll be something wrong there too. In Lemuria it's a sort of trademark thing—everything that can go wrong, will. Are we going to Kolima or to Imil? Kolima, I would think. We're headed that way as it is."

         "You know, your accent gets more noticeable when you talk about Lemuria. In Kalay, we just called it 'dumb luck'. Or 'adventurer's luck' if you were the adventuring type."

         "Accent?" Picard asked with a laugh.

         "Yes, the Lemurian accent," Ivan said, imitating Picard's voice. "'Ah we goh-ing to Koh-lee-mah auh to Imil?'"

         "Oh very funny. Well, _you_ have an accent too, or you would, if we were in Lemuria right now."

         "We aren't. We are in Bilibin, and they are going to be serving breakfast soon. Come on!" Ivan leapt up and ran at an incredible speed along the top of the gate. Picard, with a sigh, jumped to the ground and walked to the Inn, where Ivan waited impatiently.

         "You'd think you were Garet, with the way you're inhaling that food," Picard remarked. Ivan shrugged. "Let me guess. A reaction to your extreme energy loss yesterday." Ivan, mouth full, nodded in agreement. Picard, laughing, raised his glass of juice in a mock toast.

         "Maybe we'll make it to Kolima in one piece. Well, two separate pieces," Ivan suggested optimistically. 

         "And maybe tomorrow, the moon will decide to rise at noon and the sun at midnight," Picard said sarcastically. "Or maybe we'll by lucky and my Psynergy will remain at full power for more than an hour." 

         "That's less likely than what you said about the sun."

         "True." 

         They packed their things and headed out again, with the promise of a wonderfully clear day and beautiful weather. It was warm, but not oppressively so, and a light breeze blew, putting Ivan literally in his element and giving him the same attitude as a Mercury Adept swimming or a Venus Adept exploring a cave or forest—extremely hyper.

         "It always did make me wonder how someone from a fire clan could live somewhere so snowy and cold," he remarked completely spontaneously. Picard could have sworn Ivan was skipping, or would have been, except he was walking backwards and had stopped suddenly.

         "Picard…slowly turn around…" he said in a quiet, almost fearful voice.

~^~^~^~

Avaria: Well, that took me long enough, didn't it? Cliffhanger? Go ask Midnight C or Triad—or Vil, if you catch her. She's running from the pizza deliveryauthors. So, review kindly, and the next part will come faster than this one…goodness, I hope you all haven't forgotten me…

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V  (spiffy arrow)


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